EZ Posole-vegan friendly!

The Producer loves soup and he loves spicy so I whipped up a pot of EZ Posole last night for dinner. Now all of you purists might fault me for not soaking dried peppers and doing it the old fashioned way but... OH well, sometimes a mama's got to do what a mama's got to do!
Traditionally Posole is a pork stew with hominy and can be red or green. I am a fan of red Posole and since we don't eat much meat at home, I decided to make a vegan version.

Most Posole fans will tell you it's all about the toppings and I agree!

EZ Posole for 4:

1 large can hominy

1 carton vegetable stock or 1 qt. homemade
1 small can red enchilada sauce
1 zucchini
1 small brown onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano

Heat a large pot on Med/High and add 1T olive oil. Cook the zucchini, onion and garlic until soft. Add in the cumin and chili powder and stir for 30 seconds to allow the oils to release. Pour in the stock and enchilada sauce. Drain the hominy and add to the pot along with the oregano. Simmer on Med. for about 20 minutes or longer. Serve piping hot with toppings on the side for each to add in.

Suggested toppings:
finely chopped onion
tortilla chips or fried tortilla strips
cilantro
sliced radishes
chunks of avocado
fresh lime wedges
hot sauce

Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Don't throw those decorative pumpkins away!

I love to decorate my porch in LA for Fall with a bounty of pumpkins and Winter squash. This year some nasty (I'm assuming) teenage boys decided to hurl my pumpkins off my porch to my driveway, 1 story below, and smashed them to smithereens! I spent the next few days plotting evil revenge but fortunately never brought it to fruition!
A few days later, when I arrived back at our Nor Cal apartment, I had discovered that the Producer had decorated our little apartment doorstep with some pumpkins. Super cute!

When I went out to the ranch, where he spends the better the better part of the day, I discovered that they had cleared the ranch garden of all squash and gourds and displayed them at the produce stand

The groovy thing is, if it's on the stand it's for the taking with an honor donation. Yahoo! I took a few more small pumpkins to bake and puree to make all sorts of delicious things from.
This glut of pumpkins inspired me to encourage you to also make your own puree.
Here's how (this will sound familiar!)
Preheat your oven to 350F
Cut your pumpkins in half along the meridian, not the equator.  Place them on a Silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes. You should smell the delicious carmely smell and a knife should  insert into the pumpkin without resistance. Remove the seeds if you haven't already. Scoop the baked flesh into a food processor. A blender will also work for smaller batches. Puree until smooth. Freeze in 1 c. portions in freezer bags. You can keep it in the freezer easily for 6 months.

In the upcoming weeks I will be sharing some pumpkin recipes and now you will have some puree on hand. If you are reading this before Thanksgiving, I use the puree for my pies. If your puree seems watery, line a fine mesh sieve with a coffee filter and pour the puree in.  Set in the sink and allow some of the liquid to drain out.

Enjoy! 

XO MamaP 

Is it a radish or turnip?

Have you ever tried a watermelon radish? They are hard to find unless you shop at the farmer's markets. However, they are delicious! If a radish and a turnip had a baby, the watermelon radish is the result!

The texture is a little firmer as the turnip but there is still a little bite to them like a radish. I think they would be great satueéd, but I like them raw in salads.

If the skin is particularly thick, you can give them a little peel. Otherwise, just wash and slice thin.

I have used them in a couple salads recently. This one  is the Fall salad I made in the post, "The perfect compliment... " I just added the watermelon radish. 

This was served along a delicious seafood paella, stay tuned!

I'll give you the how to's on this one which we took to our oyster expedition ( see "Oysters")

 This was 2 watermelon radishes and a pound of Chinese long beans. You could easily substitute green beans or sugar snap peas for the Chinese long beans! 

I blanched the long beans in salted boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. You don't want them to be too soft! After blanching put them right into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. 

In a small jam jar I made the dressing. 1/4 olive oil, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 small shallot minced, 2T. Sherry vinegar, pinch of salt. Shake until emulsified. 

Dress the beans and radish slices with the dressing and finish with nigella seeds or black sesame seeds and some fresh tarragon. 

Enjoy! 

Xo MamaP

Spaghetti squash

If you haven't tried spaghetti squash because you weren't sure what to do with it, well, I'm hoping this post will change your mind. I like to keep one on hand as an easy dinner.  It keeps well in the pantry (2-3 weeks in a cool dry place) is full of fiber, and it's yummy!
To prepare it, preheat your oven to 375F. Use a large solid knife to carefully cut the squash in half the long ways, in order to make 2 "boats". Be very careful when cutting! Put the squash on a towel so it doesn't slip on the counter or cutting board.Take care that the knife is not going towards you body. I usually put the point of the knife in and then pull it down to cut half way, flip the squash over and repeat to open it up. Drizzle each half with just a little olive oil and place upside down on a Silpat (see orechiette blog) lined baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes. You should be able to insert a knife fairly easily into the back. It will have a little resistance but not be hard. When you take it out of the oven, turn it over and there should be nice golden edges.

Now comes the fun part...first remove the seeds and then you can either scoop the squash (it comes out in shreds, hence the name) into a bowl and drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt and pepper and just serve it like that as a delicious side OR...get creative and use it like you would noodles. If you have left over pasta sauce just scoop right over the boats and you have dinner for 2. You can cut the boats into wedges and top them with leftovers like fajitas, meatballs, roasted vegetables...
The squash does not have a dominant flavor so it's always a good idea to give it a little olive drizzle and sprinkle of salt and pepper before adding anything to it.
Tonight I am preparing a topping which is vegetarian friendly. I sauteed half an onion with a few mushrooms and threw in 3 big handfuls of chopped kale and 1 clove of garlic. I seasoned it all with a little Moroccan spice (Ras el Hanout) and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. I scooped about 1/4C. nonfat ricotta cheese into the warm squash boat. I topped that with the hot mushroom/kale mixture. I then topped that with an over easy egg and finished with some chopped parsley!

The Producer put some Sriracha sauce on his and I followed suit. It was a good idea!
Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Lunch at the Ferry Building SF

My dear friend Christie is here visiting from Austin so of course we had to get into the city today. She is a fan of all water craft so the obvious choice was to take the Ferry over. It was rainy today so we decided to hole up in the Ferry Building, not a bad place to hole up I might add. We ambled through, sampling along the way and then decided to head to Bouli Bar. We shared a Mediterranean salad and a spicy lamb pizza. Both were yummy but the salad was worthy of sharing. It was very fresh and satisfying and easy to re-create at home.

The base was cooked Bulgar. The greens were parsley, purslane and mint with some frisee. I would omit the frisee and bump up the herbs a bit more. There was pomegranate pips, green onion, pistachios and some crumbled ricotta salata. Ricotta salata is a dry salty cheese. You could substitute some feta for the ricotta salata if it is hard to find. It was dressed in a light lemony dressing. I would use the dressing in the persimmon and pomegranate salad post.
If you haven't used Bulgar before, just follow the directions right on the package.
Christie and I both agreed that this salad would be good with some leftover turkey added to it!
Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Noodle bowls...nom nom nom

I love ramen! I love Pho! I love bibimbap. Therefore I decided to do my own crazy morphed version of all of the above based on what was in the refrigerator.   I call it Noodle Bowl...

I had rice noodles the, kind used in pho, and a half carton of miso ginger soup. Now before you stop reading because you live somewhere without any Asian grocery stores, please note that you can order many items delivered right to your door from Amazon and other on-line retailers.
These are the noodles I use and have even found them at Target

The vegetables I used were already in my fridge so note that you can sub for a variety of what you might have, just use the same techniques on them. Or better yet, this is a great way to use leftover veggies because you only need little bits of things (last night's leftover roasted squash, the little bit of sauteed greens from Sunday supper...) You can keep this completely vegan by not using shrimp and subbing with tofu prepared the same way as the shrimp or just a handful of nuts to add some protein.

I will list the ingredients I used,  but do not be overwhelmed...read my tips below...
Rice sticks (pho noodles)
Ginger Miso broth (from Trader Joe's)
peeled raw shrimp
garlic
lemongrass
ponzu
soy sauce
garlic chili paste
vinegar
agave or honey
Teriyaki dressing
Chinese broccoli
sugar snap peas
eggplant
spinach
Sriracha sauce
sesame seeds

The process is basically to prep all your toppings and then boil the noodles in whatever broth you wish. Put the noodles and broth in a bowl and top with your toppings.
Here are the toppings I made:

pickled carrots:
Cut the carrots into matchstick sized pieces. In a small saucepan, stir together 1/3 c. vinegar, 1 tsp agave, sugar or honey, pinch of salt and a tsp of chili garlic sauce.
Toss the carrots in. Put the whole thing on high and let the carrots simmer for 3-4 mins. then turn the heat off and just let them sit while you prep the other stuff.

Preheat the oven top 400 F

Now chop all of the veggies you are using in order to be able to cook them quickly and keep them warm while the noodles are boiling. Don't start the noodles yet.
The first thing I did was get the shrimp marinating and the  eggplant roasting. I tossed 6 shrimp with 3 T. ponzu,  1 T. olive oil, 1 clove chopped garlic and 1/2 tsp. minced lemongrass.  Let it all sit in a bowl together while you keep prepping the rest

Chop the eggplant into 1/2"cubes and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Put the vegetables on a baking tray with or without a Silpat (you know how I love a Silpat! see the orechiette post). Roast in the 400F oven for 20-25 minutes until the eggplant has some nice color and is soft. It should be soft and sweet, no one likes undercooked eggplant!

These are egg sized Indian eggplant, my favorites. the dimples mean they need to be used today! Buy them when they are firm taught, and shiny.

Start you stock on a med simmer just so it's ready for the noodles when you are.
Saute' the broccoli.  I used the Chinese variety, so sweet!  Do this in a very hot pan to get a little brown on the broccoli.  At the end, toss in some chili garlic sauce  and 3 T. water and cover to let it steam through and cook the stems through, then hold warm in a bowl.
 In the same pan add a drizzle more oil and saute the peas (either sugar snap, or Chinese) or just use some frozen shelled peas.

Bring your stock to a full boil now and throw in your noodles. Cook according to the package directions.  Drizzle the sauteed peas with a sesame dressing or a little sesame oil and some sesame seeds.

Add the shrimp onto the eggplant tray in the oven to finish roasting for the last 5 mins.
Finally saute' the greens (I used spinach) when it is almost finished, which happens fast, throw in some chopped garlic and a small drizzle of soy.
Check you eggplant and shrimp in the oven to see if they are both done. the shrimp should be just pink and the eggplant soft, do not overcook the shrimp.
Once your noodles are cooked, put them in a good sized bowl with some of the broth and then place all of you toppings on them. Finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and maybe a little sriracha sauce.

This recipe is more of a plan of attack. Don't let it bog you down. This is a go to mid week dinner for us. I don't always prep all of the veg. the night I'm making it (read I use leftovers) Sometimes I roast more things and saute less for easier prep. I often put a soft cooked egg on top as the protein.
I do recommend you keep a nice assortment of Asian sauces on hand because it is the combination of different flavors that makes this dish so yummy!!! nom nom nom
Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Herbaceous Turkey Meatballs

I'm going to a screening with the Producer tonight and needed to make something for both of us that will travel well to be consumed later. My first thought was a meatball sandwich but both of us are trying not to eat as much bread  and baked goods as we did before we we became "persons of a certain age".  So I was already on the meatball train and just decided to stay there. 

However, instead of sliding them between some delicious buttery garlic bread and smothering them with cheese, I thought better and decided to put them over some greens along with some roasted vegetables on the side. I upped the ante by deciding to make them from lean ground turkey. However, the turkey decision always screams for help with flavor and moisture. I think I got both of those covered here. This is what I came up with...

Herbaceous Turkey meatballs in Arrabiatta sauce:

1 pound lean ground turkey 

1 handful Italian parsley

6 medium basil leaves

1 whole shallot

1 clove garlic

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 c. Water

1 jar purchased Arrabiatta sauce or any marinara you like

Place the ground turkey in a bowl big enough to mix all ingredients in. Wash your hands well. Place the parsley, basil, shallot, garlic and water in a food processor or blender. I used my "Magic Bullet"; love that little thing! Whirl all of that up to make a slurry and pour it onto the turkey.

 Zest the lemon into the turkey mix. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Now without being too aggressive, get your hands in that bowl and mix allow the ingredients well.  Try to keep the meat mixture light and not dense. 

Wash your hands well again!  

Heat a skillet to med/ high more towards high. Pour in 1-2 T. Olive oil. Now go back to the mixture and gently form meatballs. I like balls a little larger than golf balls. I made 9 balls from the 1 pound mix. This also allows you to have the serving size you wish. Brown the meatballs in the skillet making sure to allow a nice crust to form. Flip them to brown the other side. 

Turn your heat to low and once your pan has cooled to a lower temperature, pour the sauce over the top of the meatballs and cover the pan so that the meatballs simmer slowly in the  sauce allowing them to cook all the way through. This will take about 15 mins. If you are not sure cut a meatball open to check for doneness .

If you serve the hot meatballs and sauce right over the top of some nice fresh greens ( I used baby kale), the greens will wilt and will have the texture of sautéed greens without the oil.  

The roasted vegetables were chopped and tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and were roasted in a 400 F oven for 20 minutes until they got a little color on them.

If you'd like, grate a little parmigiano on top and maybe add a little more parsley.

Enjoy!

XO MamaP

The perfect compliment to a rich meal- Butter lettuce with grapefruit suprémes

So often the simplest things are the best! Last night I made some yummy enchiladas and needed a light refreshing something to go with. I remembered I had purchased a ruby grapefruit and of course being a California girl I had a ripe avocado, or 3, and I had some beautiful butter lettuce from the Farmer's market.  Et voila', a salad was born. This salad is dressed on the plate, you don't even need to shake up a dressing.
Wash and drain dry the butter lettuce and place the whole leaves on a plate or platter. Probably 3 leavers per customer or 1/2 small head of butter lettuce.
Cut the suprémes from the grapefruit by peeling it first with a sharp knife and then cutting the segments from between the membranes.

I did not do a good job of peeling this one...I should have used my boning knife. But you can see how the segments are cut from the membrane to make the suprémes.

Keep the skins with the remnants of the grapefruit to dress the salad.
Place the segments on top of the butter lettuce.
Cut the  avocado into chunks and place on the salad. Squeeze the juice from the remaining grapefruit peels and remnants over the salad. Drizzle with some good olive oil. Salt and pepper the salad. I tossed on a few toasted slivered almonds.

Thin sliced red onion could also be good and/or a little crumble of blue or feta cheese.
This also makes a good summer main salad with the addition of a protein...grilled salmon, chicken or shrimp...OMG! I'm just going to stop myself right here!!!
Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Enchiladas with a little less guilt- Vegetarian enchiladas

Being and LA girl, when I travel for extended time, the food I miss the most is enchiladas.  So much so my mom shipped a box of tortillas, refried beans, and enchilada sauce to me when I was an exchange student in Japan. Mind you that was in 1981 when snail mail was all there was. She shipped it air mail which cost a whole bunch more than the ingredients.  THANKS MOM! I did my best to create enchiladas for my host family but the cheese was the biggest challenge. I'm not sure they found the same pleasure I did from that meal, but man it hit the spot!

Now, being a woman of a certain age, I am always trying to find ways to enjoy the flavors I love but lightening up on fat and calories in general. Now I'm not saying one shouldn't eat any fat, one should, but its a matter of managing one's consumption. But enough of lecturing one!  And being a woman of a certain age, that management gets more refined each year.  Or if I get lazy, my girth matches my calorie increase...you know the drill.  SOOOOO, onto a more enjoyable subject. I find an easy way to reduce calories is to eat less animal product which is what I have done here. The filling is a very small amount of cheese and lots of veggies which can be easily subbed out for the veggies you have in the fridge. I think any combination of the following is excellent in enchiladas:
peppers of any color, squash both winter and summer, corn, chayote squash, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, leeks, corn, mushrooms, greens ...you might find others you like but I do warn you against broccoli, turnips, brussel sprouts and other really strong flavored vegetables that will compete against the enchilada sauce.
Tonight I used pepper jack cheese because that is what I had in the fridge, but there are many others that work well; queso fresco, ranchero, jack, Colby, goat cheese in moderation, anything melty and mild.
Tonight I made 8 enchiladas so this recipe is for that quantity


Veggie enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
1-2 T. olive or veg. oil
1 can 28oz.  mild enchilada sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. mild chili powder
1 small sweet potato
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 chipotle  chile (smoked jalapeno in adobo sauce)
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow summer squash
1C. pepper jack cheese shredded

Heat your oven to 350F.  Heat a skillet to med/high. Add 1-2 T. oil.  One at a time, soften the tortillas by placing them in the oil in the skillet and flipping them after about 10-15 seconds. You just want to soften them, not fry them to crispy. Drain the tortillas on paper towels to absorb as much oil as possible. Dab the tops of the tortillas with another paper towel to remove more oil (aka calories).

Chop all your vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces. Mince your garlic and chipotle.

Heat a skillet to high. You can use the one you just used for the tortillas. If all of the oil is gone, add another tablespoon of oil. Put the onions and sweet potato in first (because it needs to cook longer). Saute those for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the squashes and garlic and chipotle (if you don't like spicy either reduce the amount or withhold the chipotle altogether) and continue to saute' for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the cumin and chili powder and allow them to saute' a little to release their oils.  When the zucchini has a little color, add 1/4 c. water to the pan and cover so the sweet potatoes cook all the way through. Turn the heat to low and leave the lid on for 3-4 mins. Check a sweet potato piece to make sure it is soft all the way through.  Salt to taste.

Spray a 9x12 casserole with non-stick spray.  Pour 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the 9x12 casserole. Fill one tortilla at a time with about 1/2 c. of the veggie filling and a sprinkling of cheese. Roll the enchilada up and start to lay them side by side in the casserole. You can tuck them in tightly and also lay a couple along the side if needed.

Once you have filled and rolled all of the tortillas, pour the remaining sauce over the top and top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins. until bubbly around all edges.

I like to serve them with a little chunky avocado salsa. Just chop up some tomatoes and avocado and a shallot or red onion and mix with a squeeze of lime juice and a small sprinkling of salt. The Producer likes to pour more hot sauce on top but I think the chipotle makes them just spicy enough!
Tonight I served them with a simple salad with butter lettuce and grapefruit...more about that tomorrow.

Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Beans...don't fear them!

Some of my most memorable meals have been the most simple! I can remember being in Guatemala on a work mission. One of the local mamas invited me into her home which felt as if it could blow down the hill at any time. To my great luck, she was making tortillas and tried desperately to teach me how.  I will say I did improve, but did not master the skill . She also had a pot of beans bubbling on the burner which she let me try. So simple and creamy and delicious. She had put in a small chile and part of a chopped onion and some salt but they needed no more!

Some time later I remembered those beans and thought certainly it was the romance of being in another mama's kitchen and feeling like I got an opportunity not given to all that made them so delicious. I set out to re-create them and was pleasantly surprised. Bean are not hard to make well. They do take time but they also turn out well in the crock pot. The recipe I'm going to share is for one of those days where you are home and can check in on a pot. However, I have worked at least part time for the greater part of my life and know that those days are a luxury at best. So know that you can soak the beans as directed and then put all of the ingredients into a crock pot set on low for 6-8 hours.
I used cranberry beans ( my favorite) but you can use this method with any beans.

On average 1/4 c. of dried beans = 1 serving

You can use that serving size to prepare as many beans as you want.

First sort through the beans you are using to make sure no small stones or debris got in with the beans during harvest.
Next soak the beans using the hot soak method which according to the US Dried Bean Council helps to reduce flatulence. In a pot, cover the beans in water, enough to cover the beans by an inch. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let sit for 4-24 hours.

They will absorb water and expand.  The more you soak them, the shorter the cooking time.
Drain the water form the beans. CALIFORNIANS...we are in a drought do not drain that water down the sink, pour it on a potted plant for heaven's sake!
Put the beans in a pot that has more than enough room for them to double. Pour fresh water over the beans to cover them by an inch or 2. DO NOT ADD SALT! Always salt your beans at the very end of cooking to keep them from getting tough.
Bring the beans and water to a boil then reduce to a good simmer. Let them simmer for a few hours. This will depend on your soaking time. The last pot I made soaked for 2 hours and simmered for 3-4.
While they simmer keep your eye on them to make sure there is enough water in the pot to keep them slightly covered. You can add chopped onion and garlic at the beginning which will give a nice mellow savory taste. I tend to put herbs in for about an hour then pull them out so their flavor doesn't overwhelm.  The last pot I made I used 1 c. of dried beans and added 1/2 white onion and 2 cloves chopped garlic. Later I put in 4 sage leaves and 1 chipoltle chile and then removed them after an hour. Rosemary is always nice with beans as is oregano and thyme or a bay leaf
Continue to cook your beans until they soften and become nice and creamy. Add salt at then end to taste which will bring out all of the other delicious flavors you used. 
You can store any extra beans in the refrigerator for 2 weeks but I bet they won't last that long
Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Persimmon and Pomegranate salad

Those of us who are lucky enough to live in California where fruit grows year round on neighbors' trees, are often gifted with bags and persimmons this time of year.

A bowl full of home grown bounty.Persimmons and pineapple guava from my dear friend Audrey. Lemons and limes from my trees in L.A.

To tackle the joyous glut of pomegranates, I purchased a hand press juicer.  I learned to love a daily glass of pomegranate juice while in Israel a couple years back.  I think now I will live to be a healthy hundred year old lady because of my regular intake of fresh, anti-oxidant laden, pomegranate juice. The persimmons, however, do not juice well but are delicious used as an apple, including a great addition to a brown bag lunch. When packing them, there is no need to slice them, they travel well and can be bitten into just like and apple. Of course it is important to note that I am referring to the non-astringent variety of persimmon such a Fuyu or Jiro.  These are the squatty variety.  The more tear dropped varieties are astringent and need to be fully soft before using and are better in baked goods and desserts.
Anywhooo... I had a bag of persimmons from my dear friend Audrey and some avocados (always a staple in my kitchen!) and some arugula and a pomegranate so I decided to whip up a salad to take along on our oyster expedition the other day.

Pomegranate and persimmon salad:
serves 6
2 Fuyu persimmons
1/4 pomegranate
1 avocado
1 handful of washed greens per person (I used arugula)
toasted or candied pecans (I love these sweet and spicy ones from Trader Joe's)

Lemon vinaigrette:
In a lidded jar add all ingredients and shake well until emulsified
juice and zest from 1 Meyer lemon (if using a more sour variety add 1/2 tsp. more honey)
1 tsp. honey or syrup
1/4 good olive oil

Layer the washed greens on a platter. Make sure your greens are dry. Either put them in a salad spinner or gather them in a clean dry towel and go outside. Holding all corners of the towel firmly, swing it around and around and around so all of the water is spun from the lettuce. hooray for centrifugal force! Layer on to p of the greens the persimmons sliced into 1/2 slices, the avocado cut into chunks, and the seeds from the pomegranate. (see below for pomegranate instructions) Salt and pepper the over the layered salad and top with the pecans. Drizzle the lemon vinaigrette all over the top of the layered salad and serve.

There are many ways to get the seeds from a pomegranate.Here is my current favorite... with a very sharp knife, slice just the skin from the top and bottom of the pomegranate. this will allow you to see the sections segregated by a white membrane. following carefully along the membrane, slice the segment out. Using your fingers, gently release the seeds keeping back any membrane that breaks away. Be careful of the juice...it STAINS!!!!

Enjoy!
XO MamaP

Jacked up cornbread...#1 requested dinner at my house

Well the other day I promised the #1 requested dinner at my house and my Papa requested some comfort food be added to the blog, so this solves both!

I came up with this recipe, as I do most, by digging through my pantry and fridge to see what I could make for dinner.  I believe I only had a couple Italian sausages and not bulk sausage so know that you can make that swap. I've also used chorizo before...yummy!!!! There are many subs you can do with this recipe. If you do not eat meat, just take out the sausage. You could always add black beans in as the bottom layer to keep some protein in. If you want it spicier, add some pickled jalapenos.  I have been known to sub out the Ro Tel with chunky salsa.  If you don't want the cheese, leave it out or sub for another mild cheese that you happen to have. Basically, as in most recipes, keep the ratios the same and all will be well.



Jacked up cornbread:
1 box cornbread mix 15oz. (I really like Trader Joe's)
1/2-3/4 pound bulk sausage
1/2 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 can "Ro Tel" diced tomatoes and green chiles including all the liquid
1 can corn-drained
1/2 c. pepper jack cheese
1 large egg
4T. melted butter

Heat the oven to 350.  Brown the sausage and onion and garlic together in a 12" cast iron skillet or
any oven proof skillet. You can bake it in a casserole or cake pan but it is better in the skillet because it gets a crispier bottom. Once browned, turn the heat off and make the cornbread batter.
In a large bowl combine the mix, egg, Ro Tel, drained corn, cheese, and melted butter. You should have a wet but not runny batter

Pour the batter directly over the browned sausage and onions in the skillet and put the while thing in the oven for 35-40 minutes. It should be nice and golden on top and a knife when inserted should come out clean (with no wet batter stuck to it).

Serve it in wedges with a salad as dinner or put a soft cooked egg on top , or serve with beans or chili!
Enjoy! xo MamaP

Oysters!

No, I am not going to bare the responsibility to teach you how shuck your own oysters, but rather just share my favorite Nor Cal experience. FRESH oysters at Hog Island Bay!

You can get all their information direct from the link:  hogislandoyster.com

My mom and sister were in for the weekend and when the tall one heard we were going for oysters, of course she jumped aboard that train! The producer is also a big fan as you can see from his happy little face waiting to order up while cradling a Lagunitas IPA.

We prefer to eat our oysters raw with a little mignonette and freshly grated horseradish. If you want horseradish make sure you ask for it here. They also serve BBQ'd oysters here which they BBQ on the half shell with a delicious dollop of compound butter with adobo, garlic, and a laundry list of deliciousness
At Hog Island there are a few picnic tables where you can enjoy your purchase or you can jump on line months in advance and reserve one of the tables closer to the water and shuck your own. You can bring your own extras to make it more of a picnic (we brought 2 salads (recipes to follow later this week), bread and cheese) However they offer all of these things for purchase if you just want to show up. They also sell beer and wine or again it's OK to bring your own.

If you have never tried an oyster I recommend, sometime in your life, you find a place near the water to try one. There is nothing like being on the water while devouring these plump little morsels that taste so briny and oceany!

XO MamaP

Kale yah! It's good for breakfast!- Kale and leek scramble

It's Saturday and I'm hungry but I don't want to get out of these jammies so I decided to see what I could whip up here for the producer and I for breakfast. I know I have egg yolks left from making the macarons the other day as well as some more eggs to add into those. Let's see, there is some kale growing in the pots on the patio.

The kale is in the back right corner of the top pot. There is also Chinese mustard, Italian parsley, Columnar Basil and tarragon mixed in there too.

I have a sad leek that just needs a little trimming, half an avocado and the last few grape tomatoes from last weeks Farmer's Market...Perfect! I'll throw in a little chili garlic past and a yummy scramble awaits!

What you see is:
1 leek cleaned, trimmed and sliced (always make sure you have washed all of the sand from the leek)
6 small kale leaves cut into small strips
10 grape tomatoes halved
1/2 large avocado
3 egg yolks plus 2 small whole eggs (the farmer said small and they were! The photo doesn't represent that)
Garlic chili paste; I used 1 tsp. You can omit or sub in your own hot sauce of choice

What you don't see:
coconut oil, but you can use olive oil or butter

Heat your pan to med/high. Once hot add in 1-2 tsp.coconut oil. You can sub out the oil for whatever you have however, there is something to be said for leeks cooked in coconut oil! Saute the leeks and kale until they are softened (about 3-5 minutes) Don't let the leeks brown or they will become bitter. Turn your heat down to low and let your pan cool down for about a full minute. Beat all of your eggs together and pour into the pan. Gently push them around with a wooden spoon allowing nice soft curds to form. This is something my girls have taught me...slow scrambled eggs are far better than done too quickly! While they are scrambling add in your garlic chili paste or hot sauce. When finished plate the eggs and top with chunks of avocado and tomatoes. Put the salt and pepper on last, to taste, to make the avocados sing their glory! Easy does it with the salt and pepper. I f you have a mill  just do a little grind of each. Otherwise a TINY pinch will do.

et voila'...this made just the right amount for the producer and I along with 1/2 of a whole grain English muffin for each of us

 Speaking of salt do not use that horrible iodized stuff. Get some good kosher or sea salt. You can even find it at Target now. Eat your fish and seaweed to get your iodine. Leave that horrible stuff on the shelf. It tastes like chemical not salt! I will talk more about pantry staples later!

You are going to have such a good day with this breakfast in your belly!
Enjoy!
XO MamaP

Orecchiette with red kabocha squash, leeks and collard greens

I was at the Farmer's Market on Sunday and Fall was announcing herself loudly with squash and persimmons spilling from every stall. So not having much willpower at a Farmer's Market, I found myself with a collection of beautiful hard skinned squash on my counter. I decided to roast some and pair it with the orecchiette (little ear shaped pasta) I had in my pantry. (This recipe would work well with most heartier pasta). So I dug through my fridge and pulled out some leeks and collard greens and parmigiano cheese. I knew I had some veg stock in the pantry and sage outside in my patio pots so ta da... dinner for the hungry producer is in the works!
I'm giving you the recipe for 4 servings even though I prepared for 2 so know the food in the photos will be 1/2 of what you might be preparing:

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta ( I used orecchiette)
1 1-2 pound red kabocha squash
2 leeks
4-5 collard green leaves
1 cup veg. stock
6 sage leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c parmigiano cheese
Olive oil
Salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F
Start by prepping all of your ingredients to make for easy assembly.
Clean your leeks and slice them into thin slices. Finely chop the garlic and chiffonade the collards. Chiffonade is a thin ribbon slice. Wash the greens , roll them into a fat cigar shape and slice across to make thin ribbons. cut the ribbons down the middle to make shorter ribbons, or you will have collards hanging from your mouth.

Cut the Kabocha in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into slices about 1/2-3/4" thick and peel these slices. Cut the slices into chunks and toss with 1 T olive oil and a decent pinch of salt and 3-4 turns of the pepper mill. Roast in a 375 oven for 17-20 minutes until the edges look nice and colored. i always roast veggies on a Silpat but you can also use parchment or foil so your veggies don't stick.

You can see the nicely colored edges here

Heat a skillet (to med/high) big enough to hold all of the ingredients when added...I always prefer my trusty cast iron skillet.
Also start you pasta water on high at this point following the quantity directions on the package.

Add 1 T. olive oil and saute the leeks getting them just golden but not browned or they will become bitter. Once they start to get just a little gold on them, toss in the garlic, finely chopped sage and collards and keep pushing them around the pan until the collards and garlic soften. Add in the cup of broth and turn the heat to low and simmer very slowly just to soften the greens more  and meld all of the flavors. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed.

Hopefully your pasta water is now boiling so you can cook you pasta per the time on the package.
When the pasta is finished stir in 1-2 T of the pasta water into collards and leeks. Add the pasta to the greens and stir in the roasted squash. Taste again for one last seasoning adjustment and then serve with a generous snow of finely grated parmigianno on top. If you want to be a little fancier, fry up a couple more sage leaves in either butter or olive oil and use as a garnish.

Enjoy!!!!
xo MAMAP